Vote Bowe! Local woman up for Female Athlete of Olympics

Tuesday

Vote for Ocala's Brittany Bowe at https://awards.teamusa.org/vote through Friday. You also can vote for male and team honors.

As has been the case much of her life, Brittany Bowe finds herself in the middle of a competition.

But this one won't carry with it the physical toll of earning four top-5 speed skating finishes (including a bronze medal in the team pursuit) in the recently completed Winter Olympics.

It also won't require the basketball talent it took to leave Florida Atlantic in 2010 in the top 10 of the program's record books in assists, points and steals.

No, the Trinity Catholic alum is facing off against Jamie Anderson (snowboarding), Chloe Kim (snowboarding), Elana Meyers (bobsled) and Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing), all teammates in PyeongChang, South Korea, looking to capture the title of Team USA's Female Athlete of the Winter Olympics.

And all it will take to win are votes from her supporters at https://awards.teamusa.org/vote before the contest ends on Friday.

Need more convincing? Listen to a pitch from her longtime inline skating coach, Renee Hildebrand.

"First, you can look at her accomplishments from the Olympics, which were amazing," said Hildebrand, who first met Bowe when the local sports standout was 7-years-old. "She was pretty close to being a three-time medalist. That alone could be enough."

But then Hildebrand points out what she feels are even more meaningful vote-worthy traits.

"Look at what she went through in the last year-and-a-half (Bowe's suffering what was feared to be a potential career-ending concussion) and what a terrible ordeal that was," Hildebrand said. "Most would not go back to competing in athletics, but she got back to the top. That makes her deserving."

"And if you look at how she handles both winning and losing, it is with complete class," Hildebrand added. "That is just who she is. She's the perfect choice."

It was recently announced on the City of Ocala Municipal Government Facebook page that Bowe and fellow Ocalans and Olympians Joey Mantia and Erin Jackson will be the guests of honor at a "Mayor's Welcome Home Celebration for Ocala Olympians" at 6 p.m. April 6 on the downtown square. Each of them will receive a key to the city.

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